Change of Pace
by galericulateGeek
Summary: Thundercracker has had it with life in the Decepticons but isn't sold on defection or abandonment just yet. Will something push him over the edge or will the Decepticons pull him back in?
1. Chapter 1

So this is the first time I've ever written a fanfic and felt it decent enough to publish. I proof read it a couple times, and if this does well enough I'll write longer chapters. This was just kind of a spur of the moment thing, though I don't feel it's going to be a one shot. There shouldn't be any OCs involved and for now it should sit well at a T rating.

Also just to cover my bases Transformers and it's related trademarks are copyright of Hasbro and Takara Tomy.

* * *

**Change of Pace:**

**Chapter 1**

* * *

The day to day on earth had become stagnant. Online, refuel, patrol, be yelled at by Megatron about not meeting energon production rates, go ransack a human power plant and slaughter some of the meat bags along the way, get our afts kicked by the Autobots a bit, then retreat and plan to do it all again the next day. How this routine wasn't driving Skywarp mad was beyond me. I guess he just waited for the off days that Starscream decided were good enough to try and over throw Megatron, and just as always he would fail.

At this point I'm beginning to wonder if any off this is worth it. The war isn't going anywhere because no one can gain the upper hand. Plus our dear leader seems to be going further off the deep end, each of his plans getting more convoluted and ridiculous. "Let's pull Cybertron into earth's orbit and use the resulting catastrophes to power a turbine." Who the hell came up with that and who approved it? Probably Soundwave considering that slagger bends to every which whim of Megatron's.

"Hey, Cybertron to TC? You in there?" Skywarp began poking me in my head as I slowly came out of my thoughts. Once I realized what he was doing I slapped his hand away and scowled.

"Yeah I'm in here, what do ya want Warp?"

"Whatcha thinkin' 'bout?" Skywarp says as he sits down across from me. I've been in thought for so long I forgot about the cube of energon sitting in front of me.

"Nothing I need to tell you about," I shoot back at him. I know he is going to keep prodding until I tell him, but is it wrong to hope for a miracle?

"So? I still want to know, come on tell me. If it's about what happened to your berth I promise it was Rumble and Frenzy, not me."

"What. No. Wait what happened to my berth?" He began grinning, and this is where he said like usual:

"I'll tell you if you tell me. I know you aren't going to go check." As much as I want to just get up and go look he's right. Things are just too routine here that even a dunce like Skywarp can predict everyone's actions.

"Fine. I'm bored." That didn't satisfy him.

"Then ask for an extra patrol and go stretch your wings some." And of course the bastard would passively dig for information, we've spent too much time around the king of passive aggressive.

"No, I'm bored of the daily routine. I'm bored of this damned underwater tin can, and I'm just bored of the Decepticons." I wait for the normal response but he doesn't say anything. Unusual for sure, almost the kinda change I'm longing for, but I need something a whole lot bigger than that. However the fact that his eyes are locked behind me had to be a bad sign. Against my better judgment I turn around.

"Believe me, you aren't the only one." Starscream sighs as he sits down and joins us, I can't help but let out a sigh as well. The look on Skywarp's face was reading more of a "Megatron is right behind you."

"That slag head Megatron is insane and we all know it. Have you heard his latest plan yet?" We both shake our heads, though it isn't like Starscream cares enough to factor our response into his rant. "He wants to try using the force of an erupting volcano to make energon. Here's the kicker though, he wants to use the dormant volcano that the Ark is embedded in. Trying to take out two birds with one stone or some blather."

"Sounds like a better way to waste our energon than make some." Skywarp finally says as he decides to come back to us after Starscream's entrance. I almost can't resist slamming my head down. He should know by now not to provoke the sleeping beast.

"I know! I tried to tell him but the aft head won't listen. He just rages on about how he's the leader and we're going to do as he wants." Starscream keeps his rant up but I lose focus again. Were we really winning the war? We have a disadvantage with our energon supplies considering we have to steal it whereas the Autobots are just handed it by the humans. They are even growing their ranks. The Dinobots are hard enough to deal with and now they have another entire crew showing up. At least that's what Ravage's intel indicates. Sure we have Cybertron, but is that really a prize anymore? Some run down destroyed ball of metal that has to feed off the energy from elsewhere in the galaxy to thrive sure sounds like what you give to the losers.

"Thundercracker are you even listening to me!?" Pulled from my thoughts yet again. I scan the table to see if I can get some cover from Skywarp but he's missing. Irritating but I can use it to my advantage.

"No, but at least I stuck around to at least fake it."

"What are you talking about, Skywarp is right…" Hook, line and sinker. The shocked expression on his face is just priceless, and the fit that followed after is one of his better performances. "That fragging aft head! I'm going to turn him into a toaster when I get my hands on him. How dare he leave when I'm talking to him! He'll be lucky if he stops hurting a century from now." As he storms out of the rec room in one of his signature huffs I get back to my thoughts.

Must be nice being an Autobot. Has to be an easy and cushy life, but would I really fit in with them. I have to of snuffed out a good number of their ranks just by myself. Would they even let me in? Better yet am I really considering defecting? What good could that bring me? A furious Megatron out to extinguish my spark sounds great. Having to deal with my trinemates would also be great fun. I'd either be fighting them or having to deal with them tagging along and right now neither are that appealing to me.

Once again I sigh as I get up to leave the rec hall. It was time for a good recharge. Maybe that could settle my thoughts a bit. Sometime in the berth always did that. Though as soon as I touch the door Skywarp's earlier comment comes back to me.

"Skywarp what the hell did you do to my berth!?"


	2. Chapter 2

So I was going to try and make this chapter longer, but I felt I brought it to a good place to stop. I'm going to try and make the next chapter happen a bit more promptly but no promises. Thanks for the comments and follows of the story in the last chapter. It's a real confidence booster.

Just to cover my bases Transformers and it's related trademarks are copyright of Hasbro and Takara Tomy.

* * *

**Change of Pace:**

**Chapter 2**

* * *

Once again I online to the same damned dark ceiling at exactly the same time as I did every morning, and as always I drag my aft off my berth and stand. Last night was at least a little interesting with both Starscream and myself trying to throttle Skywarp. The bastards lucky he can teleport or he would have been a toaster. Bastard even lied about anything being done to my berth.

I step out of my quarters just the same as any day, grunting my good mornings and responses from the same bots just like I always do. Monotony in duty, monotony in leisure. I'm becoming as boring as Soundwave aren't I? Maybe I should pick up a few cassetticons for kicks, but I won't. Old habits die hard as the meat bags say. Just as I round the corner an unusual face for my morning walk shows up and immediately begins talking.

"Thundercracker. What a great morning this is don't you think?" Swindle. Just what I needed. A bot who tries to annoyingly sweet talk you until you fall into his scams or die.

"What do you want Swindle, I still haven't refueled yet." I'm hoping he'll take the hint that I don't want to talk, but miracles are hard to come by these days.

"I have a proposition for you that will break you of this boredom of yours I've heard about." Of course gossip had spread about it. It's not like we have anything else to do in this blasted tin can. "If you could get me some of what I want," he pauses for a brief second and looks like he is contemplating his next words. "I could keep you entertained," he says with a smirk on his face. The way he says that just drips with hidden meaning, and even though he isn't the type to joke I just have to make sure.

"You aren't alluding to 'facing me are ya?" I say in a flat tone. I don't want to give him or anyone any thoughts that I'm looking for that kind of "entertainment". Swindle takes a step back in response and gets one of his signature fake expressions out. This time it's the shocked and hurt one.

"Perish the thought. I've been a bit bored myself and have been… Procuring new forms of entertainment. You see, the humans have these digital games that are quite addictive and I've been adapting them to work on our hard-" I cut him off before he gets too much further into it. Looks like the rest of the Decepticons don't know the full story. Better so that Soundwave doesn't go squealing.

"Not interested. Not really interested in anything you could have. Now bug off." I huff out the last part and keep walking even as Swindle tries to keep me listening. He gives up as I pass about the halfway point to the energon dispenser. What good would some lame games do? Just add one more thing to the monotony. Things were better at the start of the war. We were exploring distant worlds than none of the three of us, Skywarp, Starscream and I, had been to. It was the kind of excitement I'm craving again. I just need a change of view. This tin can's grey is beginning to take over my life.

I drank about half of my energon ration by the time I sit down at the usual table. Skywarp and Starscream are already there babbling on about the usual things. Not enough energon in the morning, not enough fly time, and Skywarp complaining about the punishment for his latest prank. I don't really listen anymore because it's just the same scrap day in and day out. Heck, even my own thought are getting repetitive now that I think on it. Regardless my haze almost makes me miss Megatron's rallying call for a surprise attack.

"Thanks to Soundwave's diligence we have knowledge that a majority of the Autobots will be in Russia today, particularly Optimus, Prowl, Jazz, and Ratchet meaning that the entirety of their command will be away. Now is the perfect time to strike and we shall do so halfway across the planet from them!" An unusual turn, normally Megatron doesn't lead these kind of strikes. Still most don't see anything out of the ordinary in this and go on cheering for our great leader. "We begin our strike now! Decepticons, transform and rise up!" Starscream, Skywarp and I sit back for a while. The rest of the troops trying to sortie in such short notice was always hectic and usually ended in broken wing if you didn't know what you were doing. Once all of the others are out of the base and flying we take to the skies as well.


End file.
